


Front Booth

by allihearisradiogaga



Series: Black Coffee with Sugar/Dirty Chai [2]
Category: Young Avengers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Coffee Shops, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 14:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5589868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allihearisradiogaga/pseuds/allihearisradiogaga
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Billy and Teddy talk about what they are.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Front Booth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hobbit_hedgehog](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobbit_hedgehog/gifts).
  * Inspired by [College Town Coffee](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4800992) by [hobbit_hedgehog](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobbit_hedgehog/pseuds/hobbit_hedgehog). 



“I’ve got a game on Friday,” said Teddy, leaning back in the booth.  “It would be pretty great if you’d come.”

“Oh,” said Billy.  “I don’t know—I’ve never been to a football game before…”

“Yeah, and now you know the linebacker, so you’re going to show up,” said Teddy, grinning.  He moved one of his hands from where it was wrapped around his dirty chai, to clasp Billy’s hand.  “It won’t be that bad, you know.  It might be fun.  You can wear my away jersey, just like all the guys’ people.”

“I don’t know,” said Billy.  He allowed his hand to be held, but his gaze wandered out the front glass of the café.  Some people wandered down the sidewalk, and Billy observed them the way one noticed blurry others in the background of photographs.  “I probably am going to be prepping for D&D on Saturday, anyway…”

“Oh, come on, Billy,” said Teddy.  He raided his eyebrows.  “You don’t want to see what I look like in those tight little football pants, all ‘stupid sexy Flanders’ style?”

“I don’t know…” said Billy, trailing off.  He pulled his hand away from Teddy’s grip and pretended to fidget with some pens and a notebook that were on his side of the table.  Teddy pulled back his own hand, wrapping it back around the cup, the way he had before.  An uncomfortable silence settled between them.

Around them, the coffee shop bustled.  The college regulars were chatting and doing homeworking and taking selfies at their own tables.  The cool barista—whose name tag said “James,” but who told them to just call him “Bucky”—was chatting with the big one—Thor—who Billy had run into before, when he’d got to spectate at the local LARPing gang with his D&D crew.  Outside, the late Fall afternoon blew leaves across the streets, and a more than slight chill into the air.

A chill that seemed to permeate into the space between Billy and Teddy.  They looked at each other, but never at the same time.  Otherwise, they seemed to be looking _anywhere_ else.  Finally, Teddy spoke up.

“I—I’m sorry for presuming you’d want to go.  We’ve been hanging out together for a while…”  He paused, and Billy knew it was because “hanging out” was a light way to describe the way they’d made out in the parking lot of the McDonald’s, or in Billy’s room when they were “working on homework,” or when they’d gone to the movies…

“And I—I just figured you’d want to come and see me play.  Because of—dating…”

Teddy just let that hang there, between them.  Billy opened his mouth, and then closed it again.  He felt his heart pounding in his chest, and he found there wasn’t enough air in the room for him to get the breath to reply to Teddy.

“I’m sorry—”  Teddy said it again.  “I—I just need to know.  I need confirmation.  I am needy and selfish and I know it, but I need verification.  I need _something_ —what _are_ we?”

Billy willed himself to be as small as he could be, and averted his eyes from Teddy’s, which were almost full of tears.  He tried to take a deep breath, but it didn’t work.  He tried again, and some air made it into his lungs.  He used this little bit of air to speak, his voice shaking:

“I—I don’t like this kind of conversation…”  He trailed off, and had to try again.  “I don’t know h-how to say…  I want to date you—I think and—but I don’t want to m-mess it up, and lose you…”

“Billy,” said Teddy, and he didn’t say anything else for a moment.  His eyes still shone with tears.  Billy still avoided eye contact, absolutely _anything_ in the café becoming more fascinating than Teddy’s face.

“Teddy,” he said, his voice shaking, “I don’t—I can’t…”  He trailed off before clearing his throat and beginning again.  “I don’t know how to—that is—how to say what…”  He blushed and finally brought his eyes level with Teddy’s.  “I’m nervous about it actually _happening_ , like, official…”

“What, because of what people’ll say?” asked Teddy.  He waved this away with his hand.  “It’s 2015; they can get over it.”

“No!” said Billy, with a little bit too much force.  He tried again: “No, it’s not that.  It’s just, I don’t—I’m uncomfortable…”

Teddy sat back in his seat and looked at the boy opposite him.  His eyes were glistening, and his shoulders were drooped.  Teddy wiped away at his eyes and found that right now, they weren’t going to become any wetter.

“Of course it’s uncomfortable,” said Teddy.  “You’re just afraid to commit.”

“If I do, what if I mess it up?” asked Billy.  “What if I _fuck_ it up and you never want to see me again, if it’s so awkward?  What then?”  He was breathing heavier now, and he knew it, and he wished he wasn’t.

“You’d throw possibilities away for that ‘what if?’”  Teddy scoffed.

“I just—I don’t want things to change,” said Billy.  He slumped a little more in his side of the booth.

“That’s stupid,” said Teddy, “and you’re not stupid, so stop saying stupid things.  Obviously, I want to date you, for real.  And you do, too.  Date me, not you, I mean.  Dating yourself sounds fun, but also really lonely.  But…”  He paused and grinned a small smile.  “Just go with it.”

“What if—”

“Well, what if they never assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand?”

“Europe would still probably go to war.”

“So let’s not skirt around it anymore.”  Teddy found Billy’s eyes again, and reached for his hand, curling his fingers around his.  “Pull the trigger.”

They sat there in silence for a moment, the afternoon sun cutting across the autumn foliage and casting their shadows across the coffee house floor next to their table.  Billy thought to himself even with the anxiety that wracked his chest right now, if he had the power to freeze this moment like some comic book hero, he would—even though he hated time travel.  He would keep this moment for as long as he could, because it was just him and Teddy.  And even if it was hard, they were being honest and he _loved_ that, and…

 _That_ was when he knew his decision, and he took a breath before speaking.

“Okay,” said Billy.  “Will you be my boyfriend?”  He was proud of himself for not trailing off at the end of his question.

“No,” said Teddy, with a stone cold face.  Billy’s heart fell and stopped for the briefest second before— “Yes, duh, of course.”  Teddy grinned a wide, toothy smile.

Billy laughed a little and wiped at his eyes with his sweatshirt sleeve.  “You asshole.”  He laughed again.  “My boyfriend asshole, excuse me.”  He gripped Teddy’s hand his own only shaking a little.

“So you’ll come to the game?”

“Yes, yes, yeah, I will.”

“Good.  You can wear my away jersey.”  Billy blushed.

“I’d be honored,” said Billy.  Teddy took a sip of his dirty chai.  “I can’t believe you romanced me by likening me to the Black Hand.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, okay, so I'm not making a series or anything, but it's really easy to slip into writing these nerds, I find, and branching off of hobbit_hedgehog's College Town Coffee is just so great. I don't know. I love it. Yeah.
> 
> ANYWAY, check out College Town Coffee, because it's the best thing ever and stuff and read it thanks.


End file.
